Why are places important?
MIPIM is the world’s biggest showcase for both cities and regions, with 23,000 participants from 90 countries. The global property industry gathers annually in Cannes, not to party, but to promote their own places. Not just buildings, towers, residential schemes, office complexes, hotel and leisure developments, science parks, industrian and logistics sites, business parks but also futuristic visions as big as whole cities.
Global cities, like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dubai, Geneva, London, Montreal, Paris, Prague and Stockholm all stand out at MIPIM. Manchester is there too, having marketed its renaissance in part, on its presence at MIPIM.
After a few years away, Liverpool returned under private sector leadership (in particular Deloitte, Peel and Bruntwood) three years ago. Now with a delegation of almost 40 businesses, its presence ranks in size third to only Manchester and London in the UK.
More importantly though, the Liverpool stand is often said to be the ‘coolest’ – inspired by co-working, collaboration and creativity.
Liverpool positions itself amongst the global elite, as a city (region) of opportunity – a place to live, work, play, visit and (in relation to MIPIM) invest!
Global property investor attend MIPIM to decide where to put their money. Somewhere that is thriving yet still growing, economically on the up but politically stable. These investors range from pension funds to sovereign wealth funds. They can be from as far afield as China, India, the Middle East and the UAE.
If you were the investor surely you would want to put your money in a place where creativity, collaboration and innovation are built into its foundations? Where the city’s leadership is at one with the private sector, the health sector and the universities. A place where the knowledge economy is great and commuting and connectivity (by air, rail and sea) is even better. A place with a large, talented and skilled population? A place like Liverpool?
Liverpool is a city of opportunity – a growing port, an international conference and exhibition destination, a thriving tourist hub and, more importantly, now a major player in health, education, science and tech. We are leading the world in fighting disease, sensor technology, advanced manufacturing, computing, materials chemistry and sports science.
We are a place that has always, and will always, welcome new people.
